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I have some opinions about the remarks made by ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler after Novak Djokovic's win over the American player in the New York major last eight. Consider – the athlete represents American, the commentator is from the US – and athletic competitions frequently encourage patriotic sentiment. A little bit of disappointment was understandable. Rather, Fowler brought up the ongoing drought of US male players at the majors: not one of them had lifted a title since the last American champion in 2003, and Fritz had been the final representative in the competition.

We all love a storyline, myself included. But come on. Suppose the American had beaten the legend for the first time, phenomenal talent Carlos Alcaraz was looming in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d someway gotten past that, it would have been defending champion Jannik Sinner, versus him Fritz had dropped 10 of the previous eleven sets. Alcaraz and Sinner had also split the previous seven grand slams (plus the Spaniard proceeded to thrash a tired Djokovic in the subsequent match). He stated in press following his defeat that he actually preferred his draw, because it offered the chance to defeat the three best players in the world back-to-back. He is more than justified to aspire to the achievement; an competitor is supposed to believe in themselves. But entering that Djokovic quarter-final who else sensibly had the drought of US winners in mind?

Coco Gauff’s weaker delivery the sole barrier standing in her way and sustained success

The American, twenty-eight, is ranked fourth in the global rankings entering this week’s ATP World Tour Finals and has won his last six matches over third-ranked the German with growing comfort. Presumably he might claim that position for himself in the future. But evidently that at present, that’s as far as he can climb: The Italian and Spaniard lie a chasm of ranking points away. His top-class serve and concussive strength on both forehand and reverse side are sufficiently enough to dispose of the majority of opponents on the professional circuit. Against the handful of generational talents, though, Fritz is frequently overmatched. The last several seasons has witnessed the interesting emergence of lanky, towering athletes who can nonetheless cover the court with the alarming speed and fluidity of much shorter players. He is 6ft 5ins and appears that way. His movement is rigid, as if he’s still getting used to his legs. So he’ll rarely steal a point that the other player was controlling, and playing a drop shot against him is usually a reliable tactic. That serves as a quite severe limitation on his upside.

The American has made a number of dramatic, improbable advancements throughout his career. At the beginning of the decade, he was hovering around the bottom of the world's best thirty. Two years after, he was approaching the top 10. Last year, he suddenly exploded up to No 4 – and held the position. But the next leap, mixing it up with and defeating all-time-greats like Alcaraz, the Italian, and including a aging Serbian, is the highest of all. What was the commentator thinking? That Fritz, in 2025, was a serious threat to defeat them all back-to-back? That it was appropriate mentioning the continuing drought of US male players winning grand slams when he had departed the New York major in the quarter-finals? The desperation is just excessive and the appreciation for the magnitude of the challenge insufficient.

The American star made a career-best advancement to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.

Fritz’s performance in that exact quarter-final ought to have been enough of an sign. Djokovic won in four rounds, a victory that only seemed tenuous for moments towards the very end, when Fritz had survived a few match points and had a chance to maintain serve for 5-5. The pair appeared well-balanced during the exchanges, with the American earning plenty of chances to break. But Djokovic rescued service break opportunity after service break opportunity, extending the streak to the brink of agony. When he eventually did claim a single of the opportunities at 5-5 in the middle stanza, he immediately produced a horrendous game to drop serve once more; Djokovic had lulled him into a battle peripheral to the main contest and forced him to expend far too much energy to win it. Facing set points in the final game, Fritz’s first serve floated to the sky. He prolonged the match twice on his second serve, but finally double-faulted. It wasn’t a choke, I didn’t think, only a result of having to hit too many second serves.

The match was fairly ironclad proof that Fritz is not good enough to beat any version of Djokovic, that was defeated by the Spaniard in the following match and did not especially seem like he thought he could triumph. This is perfectly acceptable – the Serbian is the greatest of all time, and might not be at the peak of his physical powers anymore, but has developed enough knowledge and tactical know-how to make up for a significant portion of the decline. The problem is those who were expecting Fritz to win, and pressuring him to do so, when he was had not done anything that suggested he could.

Fritz is an asset to the circuit nonetheless. He’s a patient, thoughtful presence in media sessions, more so than almost anyone on the ATP except for the Russian star, prepared to not just express his emotions or the tactic he believed decided a contest, but explain it. That he should bear the brunt of the responsibility for the United States failing to spawn a male major champion since the last American titlist feels unfair. (Since Ben Shelton is competing alongside him in the standings, maybe they can divide that load.)

ATP Finals: Player Divisions

Jimmy Connors Division

• Carlos Alcaraz (Sp)
• The American contender
• Alex de Minaur (Aus)
• Lorenzo Musetti (It)

Swedish icon Division

• The Italian champion
• The German powerhouse
• The rising American
• Félix Auger-Aliassime (Can)

“I’d probably dwell on it forever if I don’t accomplish it,” Fritz told an interviewer in the summer of claiming a grand slam. I hope he realizes that he’s not a failure if he doesn’t achieve that goal, that breaking through Alcaraz and Sinner’s young, terrifying empire is in fact highly improbable for everybody else. {